Sunday, May 29, 2016

[The slightly new & improved edition at @ 3:30 PM Sunday]

NY Times’ & Washington Post’s editorials hammered
Hillary Clinton --- But under the circumstances, it was the LEAST
that they could do

The liberal/ progressive MSM still hasn’t gotten to the
essence of Hillary Clinton’s E-mail “mistake” --- In the exercise of her duties as Secretary of
State, Hillary Clinton’s E-mail practices violated the law & damaged U.S. national
security

Also --- EVERYBODY in the media needs to realize that when Hillary talks about concerns that she had about the "privacy" of her "personal" E-mails, she really means the "secrecy" that she wanted for all her of E-mails, "personal" AND "official"

This morning on the Howie Kurtz media show on Fox News, one of Kurtz' guests said that the main stream media has been on the Hillary Clinton E-mails story from the beginning ( with Kurtz pointing out that it was the NY Times that first broke the story). That panelist then said that the MSM has been on top of the story in an incremental way, to the extent that as the E-mail and private server story grew, the MSM's coverage and criticism of HRC's hand in it grew.

I completely disagree for reasons that are stated at the back-end of this post; but in any case, here's where some of the main stream media is on Clinton's E-mails and private server problems lately.

THE WASHINGTON POST & NY TIMES

According to the WaPo’s editorial
board -- “HILLARY CLINTON’S use
of a private email server while secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 has been
justifiably criticized as an error of judgment. What the new report from the
State Department inspector general makes clear is that it also was not a casual oversight.
Ms. Clinton had plenty of warnings to use official government
communications methods, so as to make sure that her records were properly
preserved and to minimize cybersecurity risks. She ignored them….” (See “Clinton’s
inexcusable, willful disregard for the rules” by Washington Post Editorial Board, 5/25/16, Washington Post/ The Post's View [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/clintons-inexcusable-willful-disregard-for-the-rules/2016/05/25/0089e942-22ae-11e6-9e7f-57890b612299_story.html]).

Then even the New York Times Editorial
Board spoke up with this:“Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the
presidency just got harder with the release of the State Department inspector general’s finding that “significant
security risks” were posed by her decision to use a private email server for
personal and official business while she was secretary of state. Contrary to
Mrs. Clinton’s claims that the department had “allowed” the arrangement, the
inspector general also found that she had not sought or received approval to
use the server….” ( See “Hillary
Clinton, Drowning in Email” by NY Times Editorial Board, 5/26/16, New York
Times/ The Opinion Pages/ Editorial [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/27/opinion/hillary-clinton-drowning-in-email.html?_r=1]).

A POUND SHORT
& A DAY LATE

All of the above hand-wringing
is essentially a day late and a pound short….
At this stage, the reports, observations
and critiques by the MSM, like those shown above, are but a MILD censure of the
Democratic Party front-runner.

They still don’t
get it.

Even without any
finding of criminal fault or punishment
--- if the Main Stream Media had
any sense of “proportionality” whatsoever
--- they would already be like a national media chorus shouting aloud
that Hillary Clinton is completely
DISQUALIFIED for any further public service --- and
--- HILLARY CLINTON IS ABSOLUTELY UN-QUALIFIED
TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

It is already obvious that --- in the exercise of her duties as Secretary of
State, Hillary Clinton’s E-mail practices violated various rules, and arguably even
the law itself; and in so doing she damaged U.S. national security.

WHEN HILLARY SAYS "PRIVACY" SHE REALLY MEANS "SECRECY"

As for HRC's serial excuses for her E-mails & private server "mistake" --- forget any of her talk about "convenience" --- there was never anything convenient about how Hillary had arranged her E-mails and other had-held communications while she was Sec/State. And when HRC talks about her "privacy" what she really means is that everything that she does is HER business only; and it really doesn't matter whether it was government business, private business or monkey business. As far as Hillary was concerned, it was all "private"; and for her that means "secret."

In Hillary-world, national secrets aren't important, but her own personal secrets are very, very important. And that's another reason why she should be DIS-qualified to ever be president or anything else involving the public trust.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Prospective City Council Candidate Capano Attacks City Hall Policies in
Sheepshead Bay speech

Brooklyn’s
Young Republicans say Bob Capano’s leadership in New York City is essential in these
times

Earlier this week
there was a flurry of commentary about the City Councilmember from the 43rd Council District,
Vincent Gentile, going through the preliminaries in preparation for the
consideration of his candidacy to the Civil Court bench in the current election
cycle.

It is against that
backdrop that Bob Capano, the long-time Republican activist and a potential
candidate for the City Council in Brooklyn's 43rd district (Bay Ridge, Dyker
Heights & parts of Bensonhurst), which will be vacated by Vincent Gentile no
later than next year due to term limits, continued his appearances at Brooklyn Republican
clubs to outline a message that he hopes the GOP will pick up and deliver to
voters over the next two years.

According to a
variety of sources, Capano most recently spoke to the Brooklyn Young
Republicans on Wednesday, May 18th at their meeting in the Sheepshead
Bay offices of the Eaton and Torrenzano law firm.

President of the
Brooklyn Young Republicans Vito DiGiovanni said, "It was an absolute
pleasure to have Bob come speak to our club. He is a conservative role model
that every young

Republican should
look up to. His leadership in New York City is essential today."

Following his
speech, Mr. Capano's took numerous questions about the direction of our city,
and delivered a message to Brooklyn Republicans that Capano believes will
engage new voters and younger residents in the borough. Capano also said, "It is clear that Vito DiGiovanni
and the Brooklyn Young Republicans are not only committed to growing the
Republican party, but also improving our local neighborhoods. They are smart,
dedicated, and passionate and I look forward to working closely with them for
our borough and city."

MORE ABOUT WHAT CAPANO SAID TO BROOKLYN YRS

As part of his
remarks, Capano spoke about the nickel bag fee that was recently passed by the
New York City Council. He said, "When people just want to get home to
their families as quickly as possible after working all day, they will now have
to deal with longer lines in stores as cashiers will have to count each bag
used to know how much to add to the bill. All of these nickels will add up, especially
for seniors, those on fixed incomes, and middle-class New Yorkers just trying
to make ends meet. I expect the 28 Council Members who voted for this to face
serious primary and general election challenges next year.Brooklynites and New Yorkers alreadyhave enough stress and aggravation in
their lives, and it already costs too much to live here without City Hall
making it worse with laws like this one." Capano has been on various
New Yorkmedia outlets,
including Curtis Sliwa's Drive at Five show on WABC radio, 1010 WINS,
Channel 2, Channel 9, Channel 7,and Good Day New York on Fox 5
with Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto opposing this legislation.

Capano also
attacked the criminal justice policies of City Hall that have "created an
environment that has emboldened criminals and has made the job of police
officers more dangerous." He cited recent proposals by City Council
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to de-criminalize many quality of life crimes and
erasing open warrants for criminal offenders. "I am confident that the
vast majority of Brooklynites and New Yorkers, regardless of political party
affiliation, do not want to go back to the David Dinkins bad old days",
Capano declared. He also expressed outrage that many Brooklyn democratic
elected officials and leaders have not stood up to the City Council Speakers'
proposals. Capano said Republicans "must make it clear that we will defend
the NYPD and give them the tools and support to keep our neighborhoods
safe."

Finally,
Capano, who was also a high school social studies teacher in Brooklyn, stated
that the city administration is taking our city in the wrong direction with
public and private education. He noted that this is another issue that cuts
across political party lines as all parents want the best education for their
children. Capano attacked the Mayor and Chancellor for loosening student
suspension regulations in public schools, stating that allowing disruptive
students to stay in classrooms without consequences hurts the education of
other students trying to learn. He said state statistics support his claim,
"There were almost 16,000 violent incidents in NYC public schools last
year- an increase of 23%, and the highest level in a decade. There was also a
48.4% increase in assaults that resulted in serious injury. We must change
public school policies to create a stronger learning environment in our public
schools." He also supported education tax credits and an increase to the
cap on charter schools, which the Mayor and City Council Speaker have opposed.
Capano noted that he is the product of both public and private schools in Bay
Ridge, attending P.S. 185, P.S. 104, St. Patrick's, and Xaverian High school.

Here’s
the rub: Janine Materna is running
against an incumbent GOP Member of the NYS Assembly, Ron Castorina Jr.; both
Assemblyman Castorina and candidate
Janine Materna are from Staten Island: and they are running in Staten Island’s
62nd Assembly District, which has no connection to Brooklyn whatsoever

____________________________________

Neither Ron Castorina nor key members of
the Staten Island GOP establishment are amused that the Brooklyn Young Republican Club,
which is lined up behind the Marty Golden faction, invited Janine Materna to speak

After the word got out that Janine Materna
was going to appear as a “speaker” at the Brooklyn YR Club meeting at the No
Quarter Tavern in Bay Ridge, set for 4PM to 6PM
on Sunday May 29th, several Staten Island Republicans complained to
Marty Golden and his Chief of Staff Gerry Kassar. At first, Golden and/or his folks said they
would take care of business and head off the problem. Unfortunately, there was no such business and
nobody headed off the problem. Either
Golden or one of his peeps called Castorina or his rep and told them that
nothing could be done -- the Brooklyn YR
Club is an independent and distinct organization, not formally affiliate with
the Brooklyn GOP.

Independent Brooklyn YR Club has long history of inviting
candidates In contested GOP primaries -- and from districts wholly outside of
Brooklyn

A spokesperson for the Brooklyn Young Republican Club seemed completely surprised that anybody thought the invitation to Janine Materna was in any way unusual or problematic.

That spokesperson first noted that in 2013 the
Brooklyn YR Club invited all of the GOP mayoral candidates to speak before the GOP
primary. He also specifically pointed
out that in 2010 both Michael Grimm and Michael
Allegretti appeared before the Brooklyn YR Club even though the Brooklyn
& Staten Island GOP organizations both had endorsed Allegretti. Also mentioned
was the fact that in 2010, the Brooklyn YR Club invited the candidate
from the 49th AD LaGuardia
Club to speak on several occasions, even though State Senator Marty Golden and
the Brooklyn GOP Organization were backing another candidate.

When I confronted the Brooklyn YR Club spokesperson that
he had no business inviting people from races that are wholly outside of
Brooklyn; and that the Materna-Castorina district is only in Staten Island, he
corrected me by talking about how often Wave Chan appeared at his club. He noted that Chan was running against
Sheldon Silver in an all-Manhattan district
-- and that Chan often noted how
he was getting more support from Brooklyn Republicans than their Manhattan
counterparts.

Most interesting thing in the interview -- No requests by Golden to cancel the Materna
speech

When I asked the spokesperson about Golden or
anybody from his staff asking the Brooklyn YR Club not to let Janine Materna
speak, he seemed honestly and completely surprised. “Nobody asked me, but I’m not the President
of the club.” When I probed more closely,
he opined that there would be no reason for Golden to ask that, because his
Brooklyn YR Club is completely independent pf other political organizations.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Bob Capano has appeared in two television news reports about
the proposed plastic and paper bags fee ordinance – likely to be passed as early
as tomorrow

In City Council Testimony --- Capano complains about proposed city ordinance that will
cost New Yorkers in both time and money

____________________________

CAPANO APPEARED ON EYEWITNESS NEWS TONITE

According to ABC print report on this story: “It looks like you'll soon be charged
for every plastic bag you use at the grocery store…. A New York City Council committee voted to
recommend a five cent fee, but protesters are making their voices heard…. It's
a proposed law that has been talked about for more than two years, giving
people a financial incentive to switch over to reusable bags at grocery stores…. The law took a big step toward reality
Wednesday, with passage likely Thursday….
(See “Plastic bag fee
could be passed in New York City Thursday” by Rob Nelson, 5/4/16, Eyewitness News/ abc7New York [http://abc7ny.com/politics/plastic-bag-fee-could-be-passed-in-new-york-city-thursday/1323510/][with
link to video report that appeared on Eyewitness News program]).

The Nelson article for ABC News also noted that
“Critics, though, worry about both the financial and logistical impact
of the move.” No doubt, that line refers
to part of Rob Nelson’s on screen interview with Bob Capano, which was
broadcast on the ABC News Eywitness News
program earlier this evening.

CAPANO APPEARED ON WPIX LAST NITE

Bob Capano
also appeared on a segment of the Channel 11 (WPIX-TV) news at 10:00 last
night. On air, Bob Capano talked about the
upcoming City Council vote on the Viverito- Lander bill,saying that would
impose a five cent fee on bags at retail stores and supermarkets.

LATE REPORT ON “J*P
UPDATES”

Capano also
continued to get his word out in other mediums. Earlier today this appeared in
an article on the “JP Updates” blog: “…. Bob Capano, who is a
store manager for a Gristedes supermarket, announced on Tuesday that he was
moving toward a run for the city council to represent the 43rd
district. He is a vocal opponent of the proposed bill, saying it will cost New
Yorkers more time in lines at retail registers as well as money…. ‘Regarding the money aspect, according to the
bill, if businesses do not charge a nickel for each bag, they will be fined by
the city. So, as we fulfill the requirement of this legislation, it will be
literally an example of nickel and diming New Yorkers. As we all know, it
already costs too much to live in New York City. These nickels add up,
especially for seniors, those on fixed incomes, and middle-class New Yorkers
just trying to make ends meet,” Capano told JP in an email. “This bill should
not be recycled as it was by reducing the fee from 10 cents to five cents — it
should be trashed.’… Capano will be
testifying against the legislation at the hearing on Wednesday….” (See “City Council to Hear Bill Proposal Imposing 5-Cent Bag
Fee for New Yorkers” by Chris Cruz, 5/4/16,
J*P Updates [http://jpupdates.com/2016/05/04/city-council-to-hear-bill-proposal-imposing-5-cent-bag-fee-for-new-yorkers/]).

About Me

I formerly have commented on various political blogs concerning Republican politics. Although the focus of my political commentary has been on the Brooklyn GOP and other aspects of politics in Brooklyn, I have also posted commentary about national matters.
If you wish to contact Galewyn Massey directly, please, Email to galewynmasban@gmail.com